Trolley-wire finder.



* SNITED STATES iatented May 5, 1903.

PATENT FFICE.

THOMAS SCOTT HERRIOK, OF MUN OIE, AND JOHN H. BISSETT AND FRANZ M. MERRICK, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO JOHN C. GRIESHEIMERQEDWARD TUHEY, AND

THOMASSCOTT HERRIOK, OF MUNCIE, INDIANA.

' TROLLEY-WIRE FINDER."

SPECIFICATION forming pa'r't of Letters 'l atent No. 726,917, datedMay 5, 1903., Application filed August 23,1902. ,S erial No. 120,769. (No model.) A

To all whom it .may concern:

Be it known that W6,'T:HOMAS.SCOTT HER- RICK, of Muncie, county of *Delaware, and JOHN H. BIssETT and FRANZ M. MERRIOK, of

Anderson, county of Madison, and- State of Indiana, all citizens of the United States, have invented a'certain newfand useful Trolley- WVire Finder, of which the following is a speci; fication.

The object of the invention is to construct a device of this character that will in the event of the trolley-wheel jumping the Wire find the wire and guide the same to means.

which elevates the wire and throws it u'pon 5 the trolley-wheel automatically; and with this and minor objects our invention consists of the parts and combination of*parts,' as will hereinafter be more fully set forth. "These-v and other objects not hereinbefore mentioned are accomplished by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where-' in like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and in which 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of a trolley-pole and the trolley-head and trolley-wheel and our improved finder applied thereto. line 2 2. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

showing the position of the.

guide-wheel reversed.

In the drawings, 1 designates the upper end of a trolley-pole of approved construction, and 2 the head, secured to the upper end'of the pole in any suitable manner. cured to the upper end of the head is the axle 3. This axle can be secured in place by means of the pin 4:. J ourn-aled centrally on this axle 3 is the trolley-wheel 5. -Journaled on the axle and on opposite sides of the trolley-wheel are two right and left hand spirally-grooved rollers numbered 6 and 7, respectively. Interposed between the innerendsofthe spirals and the sides of the trolley-wheel are guide and lifting wheels 8. These guide and lifting wheels 8 are mounted eccentrically on the Fig. 2 is a section on the Fig. 4. is a top plan view similar to Fig.;,3,.

Rigidlyse axle 3, so that whennotin use will hang down below the periphery of the trolley-wheel, thereby being entirely out 0f theway, as shown'inFig. 2. Each guide-wheel is provided with a groove 9 in its periphery extending nearly around the same, in which is socured a rubber or other frictional tread 10.

The balance of the periphery is cut away on an angle, as shown at 11, Fig. 4, said cutaway or cam portion extending from one edge of thewheel to the other, the angle of the cut-away portion being formed on the same angle as angle of the groove in the trolleywheel 5. The guide-wheel 8 is provided with spokes12 and13, the spoke 13 being cut out on an angle to agree with the cut-away portion II. The spirally-grooved wheels and the guide-wheels are formed integral.

The operation is as follows: If the wire -leavesthe trolley-wheel, it will be found and screwed into the groove of the guide-wheel. The revolving will lift the wire up above the groove in the trolley-Wheel. By that time the wire will have left the groove in the guidewheel and will engage the cam or cut-away portion of the same. This cam or cut-away portionwill new force the wire over directly 'above the groove in the trolley and the wire will fall into the groove, and the guide-wheel .by its'fweight will further revolve and assume 1 the position shown in Fig. 2 and be entirely ,out of the 'way'u'ntil' the wire should again leave the. trolley-wheel, when the operation will be-repeated.

To make sure that there will always be an electrical contact between the grooved wheels and the hea d,we provide'conductors 14.,which are secured to the arms of the head. I These conductors have their upper endsfree, a's

shown at 14, and surroundthe axle Their upper ends being free, theywillhave a spring action and always bear against the outer ends of the grooved wheels. In lifting the wire on the guide-wheel there will always be sufficient wire bearing against the side of the groove, so as not to break the current.

We are aware that many minor changes can he made in the construction and arrange ment of parts without in the least departing from the nature and principles of our invention.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a. trolley-wire finder, the combination with a trolley-wheel, of a finding device for the trolley-wire consisting of a spiral-groove roller-and a guide and lifting wheel eccentrically secured thereto, the guide-wheel having a. groove extending nearly around its periphery and a cam on its periphery between the ends of the grooves, the spiral-groove roller being adapted to find and guide the wire 15 when it leaves the trolley-wheel to the liftingwheel and the lifting-wheel being adapted to lift the wire from the roller into the groove in the trolley-wheel.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS SCOTT HERRICK. JOHN H. BISSETT. FRANZ M. MERRIOK Witnesses:

WM. DU VAL BROWN, DAVID L. BISHOPP. 

